River Cruising

[1Peaceful]

Hi

Want to visit Europe for first time next yr, and am considering uniworld

Castles on Rhine river tour.

Has anyone been? Any advice?

Thx

[CruiserBruce]

The is a board devoted to River Cruises. Can't give you the link right now, but someone will shortly.

[paul929207]

We have been on several river cruises, but not the one you are considering. We love them. While there are many similarities with the big ocean going vessels, there are some differences.

 

Most of the biggest differences were due to the size of the ships. To fit under the ancient bridges, the river cruise ships are smaller than the ocean ones. This leads to fewer choices.

[travelgirl87]

Here's the link to the River Cruise forum that Paul hoped someone would post:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=191

 

As already noted, river boats tend to be much smaller than the ships used for ocean cruising. I doubt there are many (if any) boats that carry more than 200 guests. This means no kids club, no casino, no all-night disco, etc. Most people are pretty tuckered out by the end of each day's touring so the activities aren't missed as much as you'd think. There is usually music or some type of performance offered in the evening. Lunches and dinners aboard are usually served in a single seating format but you sit where (and with whom) you'd like at each meal. Breakfast is a much more flexible meal, timing-wise.

 

There's another big difference between the two types of cruises. Most river cruises (including Uniworld) build the cost of the excursions into the cruise fare. On our 11 day Vantage cruise, there were only 3 optional (extra-charge) tours available are none were more than a half-day long. All other sightseeing was included. This meant walking tours in many ports (you often dock in the center of town), museum tours, site admissions, cultural events, etc. were all included as part of the cruise fare. You can usually skip anything that doesn't interest you and sightsee on your own instead. When you're in the center of town, it's also pretty easy to pop into town after dinner for a stroll or to visit a local drinking establishment.

 

Happy travels, whatever type of cruise you choose.

[Keith1010]

I too would post on the River Cruise Board to get a wider range of input.

 

Keith